There's a really good interview with Joss Whedon in the new issue (Sept/Oct double issue with Evangeline Lilly on the cover) of CFQ (Cinefantastique) magazine. Obviously, it's tied to the release of Serenity, but there's also a lot about storytelling in general. There's also a Firefly episode guide with comments from Joss and Tim Minear.

(I also give thumbs up to the Lost content with thoughts from Damon Lindelof and David Fury.)

The only downside is that it's on the high end at $12.99.

FOX just ran a Serenity preview during the premiere of the Simpsons.

For what that's worth.

Yee-Haw!

I just saw a Serenity ad (funnily on FOX) during The Simpsons' season premier. The first I've seen on TV!

Your daily dose of iron(y).

Whenever I see the word spelled without the e at the end, I think of Krushchev.

Wired article on Serenity, Browncoats, etc: [link]

Who are more dedicated than Trekkies? Browncoats. That's the nickname for fans of Firefly, the Wild West-inflected sci-fi melodrama that aired on Fox in 2002. When the show was canceled after 11 episodes, the Browncoats began building Web sites, emailing petitions, even holding charity events. Firefly creator Joss Whedon - better known for Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel - knows how devoted viewers can be and has special appreciation for the Browncoats. "They understand defeat, and it has made them fight harder," Whedon says. They didn't win over Fox, but they got a consolation prize: Universal Pictures turned Firefly into a movie, Serenity, which opens September 30. Here's how the Browncoats rode in like the cavalry.

There is also a picture. It looks like a paining that was to be used to develop effects, etc. I don't recognize it all all.

JANUARY 25, 2003: Devotees hold coat drives, donating 1,600 pieces of clothing to charity while highlighting the show's plight.

Nice! I helped plan that and did the website for it. A browncoat by the name of shellgazer desereves most of the credit though for leading and executing the project. To my knowledge the first show saving effort to attach a charity aspect to it. We thought it was a win-win. Even if we couldn't save the show we could keep awareness for Firefly out there and help out some people. It's nice we were not forgotten.

Nice! I helped plan that and did the website for it. A browncoat by the name of shellgazer desereves most of the credit though for leading and executing the project. To my knowledge the first show saving effort to attach a charity aspect to it. We thought it was a win-win. Even if we couldn't save the show we could keep awareness for Firefly out there and help out some people. It's nice we were not forgotten.

AnthonyDe, when the Wired people asked me for a timeline I gave them shellgazer's name and email address in case they wanted to get in touch with her, but they seemed to want to make the campaign populist or anonymous, I'm not sure which. Fine by me, as then there can't be any worries about people not getting appropriate credit for their hard work - everyone gets to be ignored equally! Yay!

I just saw a Serenity ad (funnily on FOX) during The Simpsons' season premier. The first I've seen on TV!

I saw it too. I like that they put it in front of those kind of numbers and an audience that you know must be incredibly diverse. I also rewound the episode on the DVR so I could watch it again.

Serenity ad on NBC during Medium.

Yay!

There's a one-page write-up on Serenity in the new Entertainment Weekly (the one with Nip/Tuck on the cover). Actually, it's about the marketing use of advance screenings, and how they've enhanced the film's chances.

Firefly loyalists (or "Browncoats," named after the show's ill-fated freedom-fighting rebels) influenced Serenity's course again when they hijacked the first test screening in December 2004. The "rock concert vibe" of the experience, says [Adam] Fogelson [Universal's president of marketing], tainted the research, but inspired an idea: mobilizing Firefly groupies to flog the film...

[M]any in Hollywood believe Universal has put Serenity in position to be a hit. "I think they have a shot," says Bob Berney, Picturehouse president and former head of Newmarket Films... While he believes word of mouth works best for "populist" films, Berney thinks such a strategy can benefit genre pictures like Serenity, too. In either case, he says, "the movie itself better really deliver." Whedon's good friend Tim Minear, an exec producer of Firefly, couldn't agree more. "I just hope he didn't f--- it up," he deadpans. "I want to direct the next movie."

It also has three stills from the pic, including the one of River on the ceiling, and a shot of Joss directing.